October 16, 2012

 This afternoon, your Old Uncle PC, nursing a mild headache that was the last remnant of a violent, gut wrenching 24 hour bug that, about 15 hours earlier had The Blog begging for the sweet embrace of death, entered his local Ralph's supermarket, (that's Kroger, for those of you east of the Rockies) in search of chicken noodle soup and soda crackers to ease his abused digestive system back into the normal world, when he saw something that caused his slightly thumping head to ratchet up to searing pain.

It wasn't the fact that the store was festooned with Christmas decorations many in the same line of sight as the Halloween displays.

It wasn't that, in spite of the fact that that was, indeed, the case.

Observe two views from opposite ends of the same aisle.

                                                                                          Exhibit "A"

                                                                                          Exhibit "B"

Oh sure.

The Blog could do a whole righteous riff on the thing that has been called "Christmas Creep."

He could. But, he won't.

Why not?

Because it would be stale and cliché.

People have been exclaiming, "It's not even Halloween, yet!" for about 40 years, now.

The "Creep" actually began way back when Macy's department store launched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (née: Macy's Christmas Parade) way back on Thanksgiving Day of 1924.

On that date, Thanksgiving became the default beginning of the "Christmas Season."

I suppose that there were a few who were appalled way back then. But, that's the way it stayed for decades.

It was the late 1960's when the Christmas season began to creep.

And, by "creep" I mean, "leap and bound."

By about 1972, Christmas advertising and decorations in the malls were up in October, as "standard operating procedure." And, it has been that way ever since.

But that doesn't stop those suffering from "Old Fogyism" (a far more serious  affliction than "Curmudgeonism") to complain and exclaim about Christmas before Halloween every year as if it is something new.

So no.

The Blog has long been resigned to the philosophy, "If there are Christmas decorations, it must be October."

The thing that caught the PC's eye and made his head explode was much less esoteric and far more practical.

Take a good look at the above photo.

Those are cakes, cupcakes, cream puffs and caramel apples.

Perishable food products with a two day shelf life, tops.

Decorated for Christmas.

On October 16th.

Someone thought that this was a good idea.

Is your head starting to hurt, too? 

Happy to share!